Syrians ‘exposed to brutality every day’ as thousands continue fleeing ISIL’s last stand
Mar 02, 2019, at 12:22 pm
New York, Mar 2 (IBNS): In eastern Syria, 13,000 people have arrived at a protection camp in just the last week, after fleeing fighting in the last ISIL extremist stronghold in Deir-Ez-Zor governorate, the UN’s emergency coordination office, OCHA, said on Friday.
New UN Syria envoy pledges to work ‘impartially and diligently’ towards peace
Mar 01, 2019, at 09:39 am
New York, Mar 1 (IBNS): With the eighth anniversary of Syria’s brutal civil conflict looming, the new United Nations Special Envoy to Syria gave his first briefing to the Security Council on the complex political road map towards ending the war, with a pledge to work “impartially and diligently”.
Syria still suffering ‘staggering levels’ of humanitarian need, Security Council hears
Feb 27, 2019, at 04:29 pm
New York, Feb 27 (IBNS): “Staggering levels” of humanitarian need persist throughout Syria, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told Security Council members on Tuesday.
UN rights chief ‘alarmed’ by upsurge in attacks against civilians in Syria’s Idlib
Feb 20, 2019, at 08:41 am
New York, Feb 20 (IBNS): Civilians in Syria's north-western city of idlib continue to be used “as pawns”, caught in the crossfire of bombardments by the Government and its allies, and attacks by non-State armed groups, the United Nations human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, warned on Tuesday.
Another Canadian woman who shifted to Syria for ISIS-linked husband misses home
Feb 19, 2019, at 09:22 pm
Ottawa, Feb 19 (IBNS): After Amy, now another Canadian woman, who got married to husband and went to Syria, has confessed that she is missing her country, media reports said.
Canadian 'ISIS bride' in Syria seeks to return home
Feb 18, 2019, at 04:29 pm
Ottawa, Feb 18 (IBNS): Canadian woman, who had once married an ISIS-supporting husband and shifted to Syria, is now seeking to return to her own country, media reports said.
Largest joint UN humanitarian convoy of the war, reaches remote Syrian settlement
Feb 07, 2019, at 10:09 am
New York, Feb 7 (IBNS): The largest UN humanitarian convoy of the Syrian civil war reached the remote settlement of Rukban, on the border with Jordan on Wednesday, where it is delivering life-saving assistance to more than 40,000 displaced people, some of whom have been trapped there for years as the eight-year conflict grinds on.
Syria: ‘Violence, displacement’ and cold kill 11 infants ‘in the past two days’
Feb 01, 2019, at 08:51 am
New York, Feb 1 (IBNS): “Violence, displacement and extremely harsh conditions” in northern and eastern Syria have killed at least 32 children since December – including 11 infants in the past two days, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) revealed on Thursday.
Jan 26, 2019, at 10:00 am
Mew York, Jan 26 (IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has welcomed the announcement by the Emir of Qatar to allocate $50 million to support Syrian refugees and displaced persons affected by the recent severe weather in the Middle East.
Crucial medical supplies airlifted to north-east Syria to meet ‘desperate need’
Jan 24, 2019, at 08:41 am
New York, Jan 24 (IBNS): In response to the growing health needs of people in north-east Syria, the World Health Organization (WHO) has airlifted urgent medical supplies to the region, for the second time this month.
Jan 16, 2019, at 09:27 am
New York, Jan 16 (IBNS): Conditions in a makeshift Syrian camp near the border with Jordan are “increasingly desperate” and “have become a matter of life and death”, United Nations officials warned on Tuesday, after at least eight children died there from extreme cold and a lack of medical care.
Amid tension, Donald Trump speaks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Jan 15, 2019, at 09:58 am
Washington, Jan 15 (IBNS): After threatening to devastate Turkey 'economically' if they attack the Kurdish militia, US President Donald Trump has spoken with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Syria: Donald Trump threatens to devastate Turkey's economy if they attack Kurds
Jan 14, 2019, at 09:35 am
Washington, Jan 14 (IBNS): US President Donald Trump has threatened that Turkey will be 'devastated economically' if they attack the Kurdish forces in Syria.
Storms and snow in Lebanon worsen plight for Syrian refugees
Jan 11, 2019, at 08:48 am
New York, Jan 11 (IBNS): Storm-force winds and snow across Lebanon have worsened the plight for tens of thousands of Syrian refugees who’ve been forced from their homes by nearly eight years of conflict, a top UN humanitarian official said on Thursday.
Killing of aid worker in Syria part of ‘disturbing trend’
Jan 08, 2019, at 10:23 am
New York, Jan 8 (IBNS): The abduction and killing of an aid worker last week in Syria’s Idleb region, brings into focus the daily risks faced by humanitarians working in conflict zones, said the Deputy Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, in a statement deploring the killing on Monday.
UN diplomacy: political conflicts to watch in 2019
Jan 01, 2019, at 09:32 am
New York, Jan 1 (IBNS): As the world – and the United Nations – continues to grapple with political crises, we look at the political landscape with Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo. We begin by asking her what it’s like to be the top UN political officer.
Donald Trump discusses issue of Syria with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Dec 24, 2018, at 09:48 am
Washington, Dec 24 (IBNS): US President Donald Trump spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the phone and discussed the issue of conflict-hit Syria on Sunday.
Donald Trump names Patrick Shanahan as acting Defence Secretary
Dec 24, 2018, at 09:19 am
New York, Dec 24 (IBNS): US President Donald Trump on Sunday named Deputy Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan as the new acting Defence Secretary of the country.
Dec 21, 2018, at 05:21 pm
Kabul, Dec 21 (IBNS): Afghanistan government on Friday said the US decision to reduce the number of American troops currently present in Afghanistan will not affect the security of the country.
Remain united for Syrians, UN envoy de Mistura urges Security Council
Dec 21, 2018, at 09:10 am
New York, Dec 21 (IBNS): Addressing the problems plaguing Syria and bring years of brutal fighting to an end, requires further “genuine effort” on the part of influential countries, to talk to each other and work constructively, the veteran United Nations Special Envoy for Syria has said.
James Mattis resigns as US Defence Secretary
Dec 21, 2018, at 09:02 am
Washington, Dec 21 (IBNS): Amid differences with US President Donald Trump over plans to withdraw troops from Syria, US Defense Secretary James Mattis resigned on Thursday, media reports said.
Worth going 'extra mile' for a new Syrian constitution, UN envoy urges
Dec 19, 2018, at 09:05 am
New York, Dec 19 (IBNS): Efforts to establish a constitutional committee for Syria are worth going the “extra mile” for, UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura said on Tuesday, after meeting the foreign ministers of Iran, Russia and Turkey - guarantors of a fragile ceasefire in the wartorn country – who agreed that it should convene for the first time early next year, in Geneva.
Moves to create a Kosovo army have ‘deteriorated relations’ with Serbia: UN peacekeeping chief
Dec 18, 2018, at 09:48 am
New York, Dec 18 (IBNS): The decision by Kosovo’s parliament to form a national army was described by the UN Peacekeeping chief on Monday as having “further deteriorated relations between Belgrade and Pristina,” which, he said, have been strained for some time.
First full satellite survey of devastated ancient Aleppo raises recovery hopes
Dec 18, 2018, at 09:34 am
New York, Dec 18 (IBNS): The first comprehensive survey of the devastation inflicted on the ancient Syrian city of Aleppo by years of urban warfare, has been published thanks to ground-breaking satellite imaging tools, developed by UN agencies – an essential first step towards its eventual reconstruction.
Turkey gives citizenship to 72,000 Syrian refugees
Dec 17, 2018, at 07:21 pm
Ankara, Dec 17 (IBNS): The Turkish government has granted citizenship to as many as 72,000 Syrians refugees, media reports said on Monday
Civilian death toll continues to mount in Syria, UN relief chief tells Security Council
Dec 14, 2018, at 09:03 am
New York, Dec 14 (IBNS): Although the overall intensity of violence in Syria has decreased, civilians continue to be killed by air and ground-based strikes, Mark Lowcock, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs told the Security Council on Thursday, during a briefing on the current situation in Syria.
Syrian civilians must be protected amid ISIL executions and airstrikes: Bachelet
Dec 06, 2018, at 01:18 pm
New York, Dec 6 (IBNS): Reports that violent extremists in Syria have executed civilians in the east of the war-torn country have been condemned by the UN’s top rights official, Michelle Bachelet.
Security Council urged to help spare Syrians from ‘devastation’
Nov 30, 2018, at 08:17 am
New York, Nov 30 (IBNS): An escalation in fighting across northern Syria illustrates the “fragility” of the situation in the war-torn region, a senior UN humanitarian official said on Thursday, urging sustained international efforts to protect millions trapped there, from “devastation.”
Syrian man who was living in Malaysia airport reaches Canada
Nov 28, 2018, at 06:15 pm
Vancouver, Nov 28 (IBNS): Syrian man, who had spent seven months in the Malaysia airport, has finally arrived in Canada, media reports said.
Suffering of thousands of war-affected Syrian children ‘unprecedented and unacceptable’
Nov 28, 2018, at 08:57 am
New York, Nov 28 (IBNS): Well over 7,000 child casualties in Syria’s brutal armed conflict have been verified over the last five years, but this is just “the tip of the iceberg,” the United Nations Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the crisis lamented on Tuesday, with thousands more cases likely going unreported.